cicada

Chapter 1421 Biting the Hook
No. 39 Yihe Road was considered by the people of Nanjing to be no different from the underworld, because it was the location of the Japanese military police stationed in Nanjing.

Every day, prisoners are brought into this compound, but only a few are able to get out. The sounds of wailing often come from inside, sending chills down the spines of those who hear them.

Ironically, this place was originally the private library of the notorious traitor Chen Qun, built in memory of his parents.

After the library was built, Chen asked Ji to name it. Ji took the phrase from the Book of Rites, "If one cannot read one's father's books after his death, the blessings will remain," and named the library "Ze Cun Library".

It means that children cannot bear to read books because they have the sweaty marks of their deceased father's hands on them, emphasizing that people should be filial to their parents. However, people like Ji Chen have forgotten that in addition to filial piety, there is also loyalty and righteousness in life.

woohoo~~
Amidst the piercing sirens, several trucks sped out of the military police headquarters, seemingly heading off to make another arrest. Pedestrians on the roadside quickly lowered their heads and stood still, afraid to be spotted by the Japanese.

But one man was different. Instead of avoiding him, he nodded slightly to the military police sentry and presented his name card with both hands.

"Sir, please inform them that I am Ni Daliang from Qingshui Trading Company. I have important business to discuss with Captain Gangcun."

Upon hearing the newcomer's fluent Japanese and the name Shimizu Trading Company, the sentry immediately smiled.

In the past six months, the reputation of Shimizu Trading Company has become increasingly prominent in Nanjing and even in the Japanese-occupied areas.

Rumors circulated that Shimizu Mato, the owner of the Shimizu Trading Company, was incredibly powerful and had close ties with high-ranking officials in both the army and navy. He had even helped the Eighth Army procure a considerable amount of food, so the sentries naturally dared not neglect him.

"Mrs. Ni, please wait a moment, I will go and inform them immediately."

After giving a polite reply, the sentry jogged away and soon returned, leading Ni Daliang into the military police headquarters and taking him to an office.

At this moment, the military police captain, Okamura, was processing official documents inside the house. He was constantly marking things with a red pen in his hand, seemingly finalizing the execution list.

At the same time, he secretly observed the appearance and clothing of the newcomer out of the corner of his eye.

After looking at it for a while, Gangcun didn't see anything wrong, so he handed the document to his subordinate and asked him to leave. He then leaned back in his chair and looked at Ni Daliang.

“Ni Sang, right? I know about your Qingshui Trading Company, but Jinling is not Southeast Asia. Your business activities must comply with the laws of the Empire and the new government.”

Okamura spoke in a cold voice and with a very impolite tone. The reason for this was that he had heard that Shimizu Makoto could actually influence the promotion of military personnel, which was the greatest insult to them, the soldiers on the front lines.

Ni Daliang remained expressionless, slightly bent down, and took out a letter with both hands: "Lord Okamura, Lieutenant General Yamato in Tokyo knew that I was coming to Nanjing, so he specially asked me to bring you a letter."

Upon hearing the name of Lieutenant General Yamatori, Okamura jumped up from his chair, took the letter, and became incredibly enthusiastic, repeatedly apologizing.

"Oh dear, so you know General Yamato. How is Your Excellency's health? I was so rude just now, please forgive me."

Ni Daliang maintained his smile and replied softly, "General Yamato is very good. He can eat a bowl of rice at every meal. He said that when he first saw you in the army, you ate a whole three bowls of combat rations, which scared everyone."

"Hahahaha." Okamura laughed heartily upon hearing this, then his eyes reddened: "You actually still remember what happened back then, General. If it weren't for General Yamatori's promotion, I might have already returned to my hometown to farm, and I wouldn't be in my current situation."

By this time, he had finished reading the letter. In the letter, Yamato gave Shimizu Trading Company a very high evaluation and even subtly indicated that his son was also a shareholder of the company.

Gangcun did not hesitate and solemnly assured Ni Daliang, "Don't worry, Mr. Ni, you can make any requests to me. If the matter is beyond my authority, I will find a way to resolve it."

Faced with the requests from his mentor and his biggest backer, Okamura had no right to refuse. If he had the opportunity, he would take it; if he didn't, he would create the opportunity.

Ni Daliang smiled slightly, but his words were very measured: "Lord Gangcun, Shimizu Trading Company only does business and has no interest in war. I am here today only to deliver a letter and pay a routine visit."

Gangcun breathed a sigh of relief. He was also afraid that the other party would not know when to back down and would actually make some difficult requests.

After thinking for a moment, he took out a stack of blank passes from the drawer, signed his name, and handed them to Ni Daliang.

“Mr. Ni, Jinling is different from other places. The security management is strict. With these documents, your business can avoid a lot of trouble.”

After handing the highest-level pass to Ni Daliang, Gangcun repeatedly instructed that the pass must never fall into the hands of anti-Japanese elements, otherwise he would bear a great responsibility.

Ni Daliang carefully put away the pass, looked up into Gangcun's eyes and said, "Lord Gangcun, I guarantee with the reputation of Shimizu Trading Company that what you are worried about will absolutely not happen. In addition, I have a surprise for you."

As he spoke, he took two steps forward and lowered his voice, saying, "From now on, you will be entitled to a 10% share of all business dealings with Nanjing, and Mr. Shimizu has some connections in the Personnel Bureau of the Army Ministry."

Okamura's heart skipped a beat. The Personnel Bureau of the Army Ministry was in charge of all matters related to promotions within the military. No wonder Shimizu was so popular. Thinking of this, his expression became even more amiable.

Manipulating promotions is a completely different concept when it happens to someone else versus when it happens to you. I would crack down hard on the former, but cheer loudly on the latter.

Having received these two benefits, Gangcun warmly invited Ni Daliang to sit down and talk. The two chatted for a long time, and before leaving, Ni Daliang invited him to a banquet that evening, which Gangcun gladly accepted.

Half an hour later, Ni Daliang walked out of the military police station with his head held high. After taking a few steps, he noticed that there was a tail following him, and the corners of his mouth immediately curled up slightly.

In a car dozens of meters away, a junior agent from the 76th Special Agent Unit whispered to Wu Sibao, "Captain, this person is an employee of Qingshui Trading Company. Is it inappropriate for us to monitor him?" Wu Sibao glared at the speaker and sternly rebuked him, "Why so much nonsense? Is Qingshui Trading Company some kind of tiger's butt?"

"No matter who it is, as long as they have met with the target, we must keep an eye on them. This is Director Li's order."

Although the Qingshui Trading Company had some connections, it was related to the Kuomintang's secret police. They dared to monitor even the 76th Division and Lian Gang Village, let alone a mere merchant.

After reprimanding his subordinates, Wu Sibao ordered the car to drive. The sedan slowly followed behind Ni Daliang, and the level of surveillance was truly appalling.

As the sun slowly set and the streetlights came on, Gangcun's car drove out of the military police station and sped towards the Confucius Temple.

When Gangcun arrived at the restaurant, Ni Daliang was already waiting at the door. The two exchanged a few pleasantries and then walked into the restaurant chatting and laughing. Wu Sibao and the others saw this scene.

"Did you take the picture?" Wu Sibao asked the junior agent holding the camera.

"It's been photographed, and it's very clear."

The young spy's voice trembled. Monitoring the Japanese military police was no small matter. If they were discovered, every single one of them would have to visit the military police headquarters.

Wu Sibao, however, was quite bold. Seeing this, he slapped the other man on the back of the head and cursed, "Damn it, what are you afraid of? The Japanese aren't going to eat you, are they?"

On the rooftop of the building next to the car, Wu Chunyang turned to Zuo Chong and reported, "Passenger, No. 76 has taken the bait."

"Yes, tell Ni Daliang to be careful and never try to counter-track. That's not a skill a businessman should have." Zuo Chong crossed his arms, glanced at the Japanese and puppet police on the road, and gave a brief warning.

"Don't worry, Daliang is an experienced hand; he won't make such a basic mistake," Wu Chunyang assured him, then asked, "What's our next step?"

"What to do? Of course, to create evidence of Gangcun's collusion with the Nationalist government, and to alert the military police that someone is following Gangcun."

After Zuo Zhong finished speaking, he turned and left, his voice drifting on the evening breeze: "Contact Da Xiong and have him find out the patrol routes and times of the Japanese troops around Nanjing, and notify the Zhongjiu Army to prepare for action."
-
In Shanghai, at the Changgu government office.

Ryosuke Hasegawa sat blankly behind his desk, with several pieces of luggage at his feet and a ship ticket to South America on the desk. The ship was scheduled to depart that evening.

As the head of Japan's highest intelligence agency in Shanghai, Hase had received news of Gui Youguang's arrest, which made him very uneasy.

Because Gui Youguang knew he was a mole in the Military Intelligence Bureau, if the other party couldn't withstand the torture and chose to confess, the military police would quickly send him to Tokyo for trial.

No, perhaps there was no trial, but rather direct execution by firing squad.

Therefore, retreating immediately is the wisest choice, but having finally climbed to this position, Ryosuke Hase is unwilling to just run away.

He didn't care about his position; rather, losing his intelligence sources meant losing his means of making money. He would be forced to retire on his South American estate, which was worse than death.

After hesitating for a long time, Ryosuke Hasegawa decided to wait for Gian's orders. With such a big incident happening, the Military Intelligence Bureau would definitely react.

Sure enough, two hours later, a telegram from a partner was delivered to Hasegawa, who used the code to decipher the hidden message.

— [Investigate Japanese military intelligence around Nanjing]

Hasegawa Ryosuke was puzzled as to why the Military Intelligence Bureau was not rescuing Gui Youguang, but instead demanding military intelligence from him. Confused, he picked up the phone and began to inquire about the information.

Early that morning, with the sending of another telegram, a part of Su Nanzhong's rescue army quietly set off for a valley.

The next morning, a Japanese patrol was ambushed as soon as it entered the valley, and all the Japanese soldiers were killed.

When Li Shiqun learned of this, he looked at Wu Sibao's surveillance report on Gangcun and Ni Daliang and appeared very excited. Gangcun really had a problem!
Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that the patrol team fell into an ambush right after the other party met with a stranger?

In order to follow the clues, Li Shiqun did not rashly arrest Ni Daliang, but instead increased the intensity of surveillance, and the activities of the Jinling No. 76 agents gradually became more frequent.

That morning, Zuo Chong went to a small stall and ordered a bowl of dumplings. The area was bustling with people and full of the lively atmosphere of a kitchen.

After taking a few bites, a familiar figure appeared nearby. The person was stunned when he saw Zuo Chong, clearly not expecting to see him in Jinling.

"Boss, a bowl of dumplings."

The newcomer realized what was happening, shouted at the boss, and then naturally sat down in the seat behind Zuo Zhong.

Upon hearing the shouts, Zuo Zhong smiled, and Ban Jun behind him also smiled faintly. The two old classmates had met again.

This wasn't the first time the two had been here. Before the Jiujiawei Incident, Zuo Zhong and his comrades had their farewell dinner here (section 481).

① Rice